BLACK MISFORTUNES
by Ania317
Summary: Dark Magic is illegal for a very good reason, as Draco discovers when he and his family rival are transported to an unknown destination, completly wandless and with only each other for company. It's going to be a long way home.
1. Chapter 1

**Black Misfortunes  
****  
ONE**

A sharp, gut-wrenching pain swallowed her entire body as the acid smell of burning skin reached her nose. On each palm a deep, hollow hole appeared, the edges scorched and peeling like smoking paper. She stifled a cry as the torturous agony escalated another notch, the distinct thick, dull-brown blood oozing from the growing wound.

It was painful.

It was a bloody mess.

It was everything she despised.

It stopped.

Not a particularly abnormal occurrence anymore, as one might expect, Jaclyn Aren had the facts on her affliction written down in a book.

_**Odynia Stigma**: an ancient curse placed on a victim and triggered by bouts of hatred towards Muggles and Muggle-borns as specified by the caster. So named for the stigmatic-like symptoms it produces including agonizing pain, marks on the palms of the hands and murky-brown blood, supposedly symbolic of the "dirty" blood residing in Muggles and Muggle-borns. Odynia Stigma can only be lifted with the wand the caster used when performing the incantation; however, there are said to be other counter-curses abroad, none, though, have been noted._

She had most certainly tried, but after much searching for an alternate cure, Dakota resigned herself to the fact that she was damned to bleed, burn and bruise forever at the hands of the caster, her father.

Nicholai Aren had built the legendary Aren legacy based solely on his commitment to the Dark Arts. His allegiance with Lord Voldemort, not as a Death Eater but as a friend, instilled fear and an undeserved respect within the wizarding community. He was second only to the Devil.

The one thing that stood Nicholai Aren apart from the ordinary follower was not his refusal to join the ranks of the Death Eaters, but the knowledge that he forbade his family from practicing in the art of Dark Magic. This was especially the case after the death of Jaclyn's mother, Caprice, at the hands, or rather the kiss, of a dementor. Caprice Aren had been charged with the murder of four aurors.

Besides the safety of his children, Nicholai was firm in not leaving open the opportunity to be overthrown. He, alone, was the ruler of the Aren Empire.

Jaclyn was quite the opposite of her father. It was this difference that, upon her transfer to Hogwarts from Drumstrang in her sixth year of schooling, she had been placed in Gryffindor instead of the expected Slytherin.

There had been disappointment all around when that had happened. The Slytherins had been hoping for a new addition with evil connections. The Gryffindors had been hoping to do without a new addition with evil connections. Nicholai Aren had responded with Odynia Stigma. This had all been before the Redbridge massacre.

Jaclyn knew when to acknowledge a blessing in disguise.

Mere days before the news of the attacks had reached the Hogwarts students, Jaclyn had finally been accepted. It had undertaken a verbal attack on Draco Malfoy and becoming public enemy number two, after Harry Potter, with the Slytherins, but the Gryffindors were now, finally, her friends and, to some extent, her family.

There were some things, though, that a person just didn't tell their friends or even their family. Deep down, Jaclyn knew the Gryffindors would not react well to the curse that plagued her, the affliction that was a constant reminder to hate the people she had become friends with.

Even as the bleeding, burning and bruising became more frequent and lengthy in period, the growing tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor mounted, spilling over into the other houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. People were rushing to choose sides with each death and arrest that was announced.

The professors were powerless against the hall fights and continuous plotting. Detention did not suffice, expulsion too severe. Completely powerless.

The Hogwarts castle was fast becoming its own battleground. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were chosen as opposing leaders, fighting arguments they couldn't possibly know the full extent of, even Harry Potter. Jaclyn knew.

* * *

_Jaclyn had been wandering the halls of her father's mansion, trying to come to terms with her curse. Nicholai had disappeared into his private study right after performing the incantation. As Jaclyn dragged her heavy feet towards that same room, she heard voices, and compulsively pressed her ear against the study door._

"_That boy ruined my plans! He always manages to get in my way." It was a cold, deadly voice, a voice that one would normally tread lightly around, but to Nicholai, Voldemort was the same old school friend he had always been at Hogwarts._

"_You were too cocky, Tom, trying to snatch Potter from right under the mudblood-lovers nose," Nicholai chuckled, surveying the powerful man as though he wouldn't, or couldn't, hurt a fly._

"_Must you insist upon calling me that? Tom Riddle is but a dead memory, that child made sure of that too." The hardened edge in his voice had curved into weariness, but the voice was still hard enough to make the average Death Eater wet their pants._

"_You know as well as I do that Voldemort is merely a tool used to intimidate and I am not one of your mindless Death Eaters. But enough of that. You may be a reborn evil lord, but I can still see my old friend scheming away. What is your plan?"_

_A venomous laugh._

"_If Potter is willing to risk his life for an outlawed Godfather, imagine the effect of killing his precious mudblood or even that Weasel! He'll be coming to find me instead of having to devise a plan just to get him out of Hogwarts. Of course, that's just one endeavour. Lucius Malfoy has kindly been keeping tabs on all the mudbloods at Hogwarts through his son. It's an impressive list."_

_Nicholai sneered and Jaclyn moved in closer. She had met Lucius' son, Draco, and knew him to be quite the spoiled little bastard._

"_Lucius Malfoy?" he let the name roll around his tongue slowly before spitting it out in disgust._

"_Lucius is a loyal Death Eater."_

"_Malfoy is nothing but an inane follower, a sheep. Your loyal Death Eater was too gutless to even face Azkaban for you. He denied his support!" Nicholai scowled, letting his hate engulf him._

"_You did not face Azkaban for me." It was a mocking tone, one with little patience._

"_I wasn't caught."_

_An eerie silence followed before the conversation changed direction._

"_What of your daughter, Jaclyn? Lucius was quick to inform me of her selection in Gryffindor." The hard edge had returned in full force and it made Dakota jump._

"_Of course he was," Nicholai muttered darkly, sardonically. "I've brought Jaclyn home this weekend, and you need not fear, the reminder of her family's values I have placed on her will be a heavy burden."_

_At the mention of this new "burden" and her name falling from the Devil's lips, Jaclyn suddenly felt nauseous. She bolted._

* * *

Now back in the safety of the Hogwarts grounds, Jaclyn had successfully steered well clear of the pending violence. She couldn't even bring herself to warn Harry, Ron or Hermione of their fate for fear of her father's sanctions. 

The family rivalry between the Aren and Malfoy families, however, was on a whole different level. It was personal. No matter what the negative feelings were towards her father, Jaclyn was prepared to fight for her family name, and she deeply abhorred Draco.

The hate was a mutual feeling. Draco had it in for Jaclyn and he made sure she knew just how much. He was constantly in her face, but Jaclyn knew exactly how to handle him. All she needed was perfect timing.

The perfect moment arrived a month after Jaclyn's arrival at Hogwarts. Unfortunately it did not go exactly according to plan.

* * *

Thankfully, Jaclyn had the Gryffindor girl's bathroom all to herself. She had reached it just in time for the bleeding to begin. The pain that had shot through her body a second before had been a delayed warning. This was the forth time in a week that Odynia Stigma had hit. Nicholai must have been feeling particularly heinous towards the Muggles. 

As the holes closed up and the murky blood on her palms miraculously vanished, Jaclyn pulled her long, curly, raven-black hair off her face, studying her strikingly white complexion as she washed the dry blood spot on her lip where her teeth had broken the skin in an attempt to mask a scream. She knew she wasn't beautiful, her looks more unique than conventional, but that was how Jaclyn liked it. She commanded attention.

Cleaning up the bloody residue that had haphazardly discoloured the white-marble vanity, Jaclyn descended the stony staircase to discover a strangely deserted Gryffindor common room for a Saturday afternoon. Further investigation located half the school lodged in one narrow corridor, Slytherin up one end and Gryffindor at the other.

Harry and Draco were at the head of their respective groups, hurling insults at one another in a very childish manner. Jaclyn had missed the opening acts, but it appeared that the two boys were preparing to duel, which would make for an interesting finale.

"You have a choice, Malfoy. You decide who it is you want to duel so we can get out of here." Harry told Draco impatiently, practically pulling his wand out of his pocket already.

A silent disbelief befell Harry when Draco did decide; a sneer firmly implanted on the blonde's features, almost tugging up into a smirk.

"Jaclyn Aren."

Heads spun to face her and Jaclyn had to take a deep, calming breath to compose herself before moving purposefully forward. She had been expecting to participate in this latest escapade only as a spectator, but his new role suited her fine. Jaclyn had been offered a chance to win a few points for her family name while scoring brownies with the Gryffindors.

As Jaclyn passed Harry and his close companions, he stopped her, a hand grasping her elbow.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." He whispered, almost protectively.

For a brief moment, her heart warmed at someone worrying for her safety, but quickly disregarded it as trivial. She was not the warm and fuzzy type.

"Nah," Jaclyn replied in a cavalier fashion, "I've got this one covered."

Harry nodded, relaxing his grip and directing his house to make room for the imposing duel.

This wasn't the first duel Jaclyn had actively partaken in, and judging by Draco's arrogance, this wasn't his first either. He stood at the far end of the hall, swinging his wand around carelessly and yelling obscenities at the Muggle-borns at the Gryffindor end.

He waited patiently for Jaclyn to prepare herself, and when she was ready, Draco inclined his head in a curt nod and stood straight, his wand at the ready. Jaclyn mirrored his actions, but before she even had a chance to straighten up, the first spell was thrown.

When the Gryffindors gasped, Jaclyn knew they thought she had already lost. They seemed to forget where her first five years of schooling had been spent.

Dusting herself off from the floor, she stood and sent a spell of her own. It wasn't a particularly difficult charm but it would certainly embarrass Draco should it hit him. It did.

A stunningly classic ripping noise was heard from the Slytherin end and Draco's face lit up like a red Christmas fairy light as his peers held their noses and edged away from him and the smell that was omitting at sporadic, boisterous intervals from his rear. A roar of laughter and cheers of approval erupted from the Gryffindor end.

Draco reacted in anger with a curse only Jaclyn had heard of previously. It was a Dark curse that Nicholai had used in Jaclyn's youth on her mother as a means of keeping the woman in line. It carried painful memories that she was reluctant to relive, much less experience for herself, and at that moment, she was engulfed by a tidal wave of rage fused with the sickeningly familiar feeling of fear.

As Jaclyn deflected the forbidden curse, she could see Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, fighting their way through the throng of Slytherin students, in an attempt to end the duel. Jaclyn had time for one last spell and she knew exactly which one to use.

Anger pulsing through her veins, Jaclyn lifted her wand for the final blow, not weighing the consequences of using Dark Magic on another student in the presence of teachers.

"**SUFFENACHE**!" she bellowed, power surging through her wand as the spell hurtled towards Draco at breakneck speed.

Jaclyn watched in satisfaction as the deadly ball of red light zoomed towards its target. However, satisfaction quickly turned to horror as she watched the red light collide with a ball of green, as though in slow motion.

Their wands still pointed at each other, Jaclyn and Draco looked up at each other with consternation. Time was standing still.

The last thing Jaclyn saw before everything went black was Professor Snape diving at Draco and her own wand clamouring to the floor at her feet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Black Misfortunes **

**TWO**

The ground upon which Jaclyn lay was damp but soft, and almost mushy with moisture. She was freezing; her face felt as though it was encased in a block of ice. A gusty wind tickled her cheeks and a slight buzzing could be heard near her ear. This wasn't home.

Jaclyn sat up, opening her eyes, and let forth an alarmed cry as her new surroundings were revealed. A forest area encircled her. The moist, thick grass under her feet was infested with mosquito-like bugs that had been magnified almost ten times the normal size. The thick-trunked trees were of the same variety. Each had identical large brown leaves, similar in shape to an umbrella, and a deep red moss growing near the roots. Each tree was almost an exact replica of the next. It was too perfect.

To Jaclyn's left, another cloaked figure stirred, standing with a gulp of dread. Looking around, slate grey eyes met ocean blue and simultaneously, Jaclyn and Draco groaned.

"What did you do?" Draco accused as he brushed wet grass off his robes and slapped at the insects that buzzed about him ankles.

"Me!" Jaclyn snapped, detangling a twig from her curly mane, "What did _you_ do?"

"You're the one who hurled Dark Magic!" He shot back, his temper matching hers.

Jaclyn stood, fuming, in the middle of the clearing they had landed in. Draco began pacing, clearly searching for something.

"Don't be so patronizing," she huffed, "You used Dark Magic too. You used it first."

Draco stopped circling and surveyed Jaclyn as though something had just dawned on him.

"You're not supposed to use Dark Magic," he said, his eyes widening, "Your father forbade it!"

Jaclyn raised a lazy eyebrow. "Do _you_ do everything _your_ father says?" She asked boldly, hoping Draco would buy her bold façade. Inside she was squirming. Jaclyn hadn't considered the consequences of her father finding out about her practicing Dark Magic. If Nicholai found out, she would receive punishment far more severe than _Odynia Stigma_. She had gone against his number one rule, his law.

Draco bought it. Shrugging his shoulders, he changed the subject. "Where's your wand?" He asked, "Send out a calling charm so someone can come get us out of this shit hole."

Jaclyn closed her eyes, envisioning her wand falling from her grip right before she blacked out. Looking at her feet now, the wand wasn't there.

"I dropped it." Jaclyn admitted, reluctantly bringing her gaze up to meet Draco.

"What?" He asked, unsure of whether he had heard her correctly.

"I dropped my wand before we were transported here," she blurted hurriedly as Draco's face darkened.

"What?" He said again, but this time he yelled it, kicking at the grass in frustration.

Jaclyn folded her arms defensively, her eyes narrowing. "Don't get mad at me! Use _your_ wand." she snapped with exasperation.

It was Draco's turn to fluster. "I dropped mine, too," he muttered, shoving his hands inside his pockets.

"What!" Jaclyn cried as realization dawned on her.

This new situation churned her insides, making her want to puke. Not only had Jaclyn used Dark Magic (which her father would inevitably find out about), but she had used it in the proximity of two teachers, the magic had somehow transported her and her worst enemy to a place that she couldn't locate, but was definitely remote, _and_ she was wandless. Jaclyn sighed at the thought of _Odynia stigma_ striking at any moment so far from Hogwarts. The sudden desire to kick and scream was strong.

"Where do you reckon we are?" Draco asked, breaking the silence and saving Jaclyn from her thoughts.

"Nowhere I've been before. I'd be surprised if we were still in Britain." Jaclyn replied solemnly, squashing a giant mosquito that had been sucking blood from her arm.

"Shiiiit," Draco moaned before turning on Jaclyn, "This is entirely your fault!"

Jaclyn gaped at him with outrage as Draco turned back to the blaming game.

"This is not my fault! You didn't have to duel me!" She reminded him.

"Your spell landed us here," he argued back.

"Our spells _collided_! It's _our_ fault," Jaclyn reasoned, knowing in all honestly that it was the truth.

Draco let forth another frustrated growl and turned on his heel, heading off deeper into wherever it was they were.

"Hey!" Jaclyn yelled out, "Where are you going?"

Draco kept walking but yelled back to her.

"I'm getting out of here and away from you!"

Jaclyn made up her mind quickly. Letting pride get the best of her, she span around in the opposite direction, walking as far away from Draco as she could.

* * *

Five hours of walking later, Jaclyn was exhausted, the only change in scenery being the thinning of trees and blackness of the sky. She had half expected Draco to turn around and follow her when they had gone their separate ways. He hadn't, and Jaclyn had since not seen or heard neither hide or hair of him.

Perhaps she should have followed him. Draco could be home already and she was still lost, with no sense of direction, in the middle of, what she assumed to be, a magical forest.

After Jaclyn had been walking for an hour in what she hoped was a straight line, she had climbed a tree to get her bearings. To her back was a mountain that she assumed Draco was intending to climb in the hope of locating a way out of this mess. To the front and right, all she had seen were trees, but to the left, a fait glimmer of hope wafted in the distance. Smoke. Maybe there were people.

Hours later and the thought of finding the smoke seemed impossible, especially in the dark. Jaclyn was ready to give up and as soon as she found a safe place to rest, she slept.

Her dreams, however, were invaded by a sharp poking in the side. Jaclyn squinted into the hazy light and discovered, much to her delight, a young boy staring down on her with a stick in hand. When Jaclyn sat up, he jumped back in fright and she was given a proper chance to survey him.

The boy looked about ten years old. He was too thin, his ribs protruding grotesquely through his bare chest. A small pair of faded shorts was the only clothes he wore and they were so frayed and thin they looked as though they would break at the slightest touch. His feet were covered in dried grass, creating makeshift shoes that were held together with broken leather straps. His long blonde hair, however, was clean and bouncy with tight ringlets. His brown eyes sparkled with coy curiosity.

"Who are you?" the boy asked shyly, his English surprisingly perfect.

"Jaclyn," she replied, extending her hand for him to shake but he backed further away.

She quickly withdrew it and instead took to smoothing her robes in an effort to appear civilised. The dirt she had slept on was clogging her pores, her teeth felt fuzzy and she was no longer freezing cold but blistering hot, the humidity making her sweat. It was disgusting and she was sure she smelt.

"Do you know where we are? I'm sort of lost." Jaclyn tried, offering the boy a chance to introduce himself.

"I'm Juan," he said, his confidence building as he edged back closer, "and this is the Trepalium Forest. Where are you from?"

Trepalium. Now why did that word sound familiar?

"I'm from London. Have you heard of that place? Is it near here?" Jaclyn asked quickly, wanting more than ever to be rid of this wilderness.

"London? I've heard of it once before, an elder was speaking of it. That was before he was-"

Juan was cut off by the sound of his name drifting on the wind, somewhere in the distance. It was a strained female voice that was harsh and cut through the air sharply. When the woman came into view, Jaclyn knew instantly that she was Juan's mother. The resemblance was unmistakable with her tight blonde curls and large brown eyes.

"Juan!" she yelled, "What are you doing out here? What have I told you about wandering off into the forest, and alone no less! You know what day it is; you know it isn't safe out here!"

Juan hung his head at his mother's anger before regaining his confidence and speaking up.

"But mother, I found a girl! She's lost and all alone!" Juan insisted, pointing to Jaclyn who stood uneasily at his side.

For the first time, the woman turned her blazing gaze upon Jaclyn, making her want to run as she sized her up.

"Lost, you say? Where might you be from, then?" she snapped irritably, running her hand through her hair and glancing over her shoulder.

"London," Jaclyn informed her, casting her eyes away from the woman who was standing her ground gruffly like a fire-breathing dragon.

"London?" the woman repeated, and her tone was so bewildered that Jaclyn snapped her eyes up to face her.

She could have sworn she saw a brief glimmer of recognition in her eyes.

"You've heard of it?" Jaclyn rushed optimistically.

Juan's mother hesitated towards her son. Juan was looking between the two women with complete and utter awe. A moment passed and she shook her head. Jaclyn sighed inwardly.

"I haven't heard of it," she said, her authoritarian voice softening and suddenly hospitable, "but perhaps you should come back to the village. There's food there and no doubt you're exhausted. Maybe you can have a wash, too," she added, wrinkling her nose slightly and causing Jaclyn to turn a deep red.

Juan and his mother, who introduced herself as Eloise, led Jaclyn quickly through the forest and into a large clearing fashioned with mud-brick houses and about one hundred different people. The villagers eyed Jaclyn inquisitively and whispered as she passed. A feeling of mistrust prompted her to walk closer to Eloise.

Finally, the mother and son stopped in front of the furthest and most rudimentary mud hut and pushed Jaclyn inside. It was a modest dwelling with two beds pushed into opposite corners, a plain table and chair residing in the middle and a bucket filled with water beside the door.

"What is this place?" Jaclyn asked, peering out the sole window quizzically, watching the people roaming around outside.

"We are not obliged to say." Eloise replied stiffly and Jaclyn's feeling of unease returned as she turned to face the pair.

"Right," she muttered, not knowing how she was supposed to respond.

Juan placed a crude plate that was covered with an assortment of berries, fruits and nuts.

"Eat these," he said, his tone suddenly guarded and not at all innocent as it had been before.

Jaclyn sat herself down and thanked the boy before filling her rumbling stomach. The food was terrible, all of it bruised and none of it ripe, but Jaclyn demolished it in minutes, craving more and certainly having the room for it.

The silence that swirled around the room was off-putting and she felt the need to fill the void with futile chatter.

A commotion outside saved the trio from further conversation, and for that Jaclyn was eternally grateful. She followed Eloise and Juan as they hurried outside. At the far end of the village, the disturbance was located.

A man, averaging a height of about nine feet, was holding something or someone captured in a circle of outraged villagers. The villagers were yelling and screaming obscenities at whatever the half giant had in his grasp.

"What's going on?" Eloise asked an elderly woman, who was standing with a straw broom in her hands, in front of what was probably her own mud hut.

"Titan caught another one," she croaked, glaring at Jaclyn as though she was nefarious.

"Another one?" Eloise gasped, clearly shocked.

_Whatever it is that this Titan has caught can't be good_, Jaclyn thought as she watched the rowdy throng of people.

Leaving Juan and Eloise by the old woman, she edged silently towards the crowd. The villagers continued to cuss and spit at whatever Titan was holding in such a vulgar manner that she was almost afraid to see what the "another one" was.

As the group pushed and shoved, the prisoner that Titan the half giant had captured came into view. Jaclyn almost chocked. She felt the familiar sick feeling return. In the massive man's grip was none other than Draco Malfoy.


End file.
